(Photos courtesy Andrew Mills / The Star-Ledger)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Ronald Roberts, a 6-foot-8 forward from Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter’s Prep who has committed to St. John’s, said he was uncertain of his plans now that head coach Norm Roberts’ future is in doubt.

The New York Post on Thursday reported that Roberts would be let go at the end of the season. The team is NIT eligible and the school likely won’t make any official announcement until after Sunday night’s NIT selection process.

“I’m just going to see what happens. I’m really not sure. I’m disappointed, but I just don’t know what to do at this point,” Roberts said after scoring 16 points as St. Peter’s beat Seton Hall Prep, 64-54, to win the New Jersey Non-Public A North title at Rutgers.

Sources close to the St. Peter’s program said several Big East and ACC schools continued to call with inquiries about Roberts even though he has signed with St. John’s.

Roberts would have to be let out of his Letter of Intent to transfer. Sources close to St. Peter’s Prep say there is no “out clause” in his NLI with St. John’s. Devin Ebanks had one at Indiana and ultimately landed at West Virginia after Kelvin Sampson was let go. If there is a coaching change,the administration could opt to let him leave.

Norm Roberts and his staff did not appear at the game because they attended the wake for Dolores Braica, the mother of assistant coach Glenn Braica. The funeral was Friday.

“I’m just focused on winning a state championship with my team right now,” Roberts said.

St. Peter’s faces Camden Catholic in Saturday’s Non-Public A final.

As for the St. John’s situation, multiple outlets are reporting that the school is targeting Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, a Plainview, N.Y. native and Fairleigh Dickinson graduate who has three NCAA tournament appearances on his resume.

The Hokies face Miami in an ACC tournament quarterfinal Friday.

Reached by phone Thursday, Greenberg said, “I can’t visit right now. I’m getting ready to prepare my team for the ACC tournament.”

Greenberg, 53, has also been mentioned in connection with the Rutgers job.

Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti has yet to make a public pronouncement on the future of head coach Fred Hill.

One source said he thought Greenberg would prefer Rutgers to St. John’s if both were options.

“It’s a state school. You have greater resources at a state university,” the source said. “With Jersey being the basketball state that it is, I think it would be a more attractive situation for him [at Rutgers].”

That same source said Hofstra coach Tom Pecora would be more likely to land the Fordham job than the St. John’s one.

“It will be hard for him to get the St. John’s job because Hofstra isn’t winning quite to the extent that they were four or five years ago,” the source said.

Fordham interim coach Jared Grasso remains in the mix for the full-time job and has the support of his players.

Robert Morris coach Mike Rice, a Fordham alum, has also been linked to the job.

St. John’s, Rutgers and Fordham will  have to wait to interview several of these candidates.

Robert Morris and Siena, coached by Fran McCaffery, are both in the NCAA tournament with automatic bids.

Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, coached by Paul Hewitt, could get at-large bids.

McCaffery has been linked to the Rutgers job, and Hewitt to St. John’s.

Hofstra could be headed to the NIT.

ST. ANTHONY DOWNS PATERSON CATHOLIC

This time St. Anthony was the underdog and Paterson Catholic was the favorite.

And for a second straight year, the dogs won.

One year after losing to the Cougars in their own gym in the semifinals of the North Non-Public B bracket, No. 2 St. Anthony hammered No. 1 Paterson Catholic 63-49 in the North Non-Public B final at Rutgers.

St. Bonaventure-bound guard Elijah Carter, born and raised for 12 years in Paterson, killed the Cougars with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Oregon State-bound forward Devon Collier added 14 points.

“It feels good,” Carter said. “I grew up with them playing against them when I was younger so  it feels good to come out and get the win,” Carter said.

“I wasn’t really a factor in the game last year. I worked the whole summer to improve my game and today I came and played a good game,” Carter added.

The previously unbeaten Cougars (28-1) were ranked No. 3 nationally by PrepNation.com and ESPN.com.

The Friars will seek their 25th state title under legendary coach Bob Hurley Saturday against Trenton Catholic.

“I’m ecstatic,” Hurley said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a team that has made this much progress during the season.”

St. Anthony has now beaten four teams this season that downed the Friars a year ago.

Seton Hall-bound forward Fuquan Edwin led the Cougars with 22 points and Kyle Anderson scored 10. Junior guard Myles Mack managed just 9 points on 3-for-12 shooting.

St. Anthony stifled PC with a variety of zones and defensive schemes and the Cougars never got within single-digits after trailing 27-16 at the break.

“Just today, I just got to give credit where credit is due,” PC coach Damon Wright said. “They just came out and played a better basketball game than us.”

PC didn’t reach its ultimate goal of winning its first Tournament of Champions title, but they did become the first Paterson team to win the prestigious City of Palms Classic. They captured their third straight Passaic County title. And they won their first 28 games of the season.

The underdog won again this year. But this time the dog was St. Anthony.

NOTES

Among the head coaches on hand were Hill, Grasso, Pecora, Dr. John Giannini of La Salle and Jose Rebimbas of William Paterson. Seton Hall assistant Scott Adubato, Holy Cross assistant Guillermo Sanchez and Quinnipiac assistant Eric Eaton were also on hand, as was the entire Rutgers staff.

For more on Bob and Dan Hurley, read the feature about their recruiting pipeline to the Big East.

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Brown, Chris Gaston, Alberto Estwick and Brenton Butler have put their full support behind Grasso, the school’s interim coach.

“We’ve been responding well even though we haven’t been winning,” Brown, a 6-foot-3 freshman from Teaneck, N.J., said Tuesday morning by phone. “We’re comfortable with him and we’re responding well to him.”

Fordham finished the season 2-26 overall, 0-18 in the Atlantic 10. Brown said McLaughlin and the University will likely decide on a new coach “in the next 2-3 weeks.”

Robert Morris coach Mike Rice, a Fordham alum, and Hofstra coach Tom Pecora have also been mentioned prominently in connection with the job.

Still, Grasso appears to have overwhelming backing from his core players, including Gaston, the newly-minted A-10 Rookie of the Year, as well as several prominent local high school coaches.

“He’s the best thing for those youngsters that are on that basketball team,” said Hector Gaston, Chris’ father. “Jared’s a hard-working young man. My relationship wit him goes a lot deeper than just basketball. It’s a personal thing. Those kids respond well to him. Those kids are looking to work with him.

“The Fordham athletic department will make a big mistake if they don’t give that young man that job.”

Brown attended Paterson Catholic and one of three commitments Grasso has gotten for next year is from senior wing Jayon James of the Cougars. PC is currently ranked No. 3 nationally by PrepNation.com and meets St. Anthony Thursday night in the North Non-Public B final at Rutgers.

Both PC coach Damon Wright and St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley speak highly of Grasso.

“I definitely hope that the University gives him a shot at him coaching these kids that he’s put all together,” Wright said. “Him being as young and energetic as he is, I think he’s gonna do a good job. I hope the University gives him a chance to coach the pieces he brought in. These guys are going to buy into what he says.”

Hurley has sent three players to play for Grasso, Estwick, Gaston and former point guard Jio Fontan, who transferred to USC but maintains a strong relationship with Grasso.

“I’ve been very impressed with him, with his work ethic,” said Hurley, who has been nominated for the Naismith Hall of Fame. “I think he relates very well to kids. I think he’s really coming along as a coach.”

As for what Fordham should do, the coach added, “That’s for other people to decide.”

Brown said the players were anxious to get in the weight room and begin off-season conditioning to get ready for next year. He said the team was in many games for about 30 minutes before letting it “slip away.”

“Definitely, I think it will be good to start our postseason workouts so everyone gets better and bigger and stronger,” Brown said. “I really think we’re going to be real good in the A-10 next year.”

SOURCES: FDU TO RETAIN GREG VETRONE

Fairleigh Dickinson will remove the interim tag from Greg “Shoes” Vetrone during a 4:30 p.m. press conference today, according to multiple sources.

Vetrone and Tom Barrise were the main contenders for the job and sources said Barrise was informed Tuesday that Vetrone will get the job.

“Barrise just got word” that Vetrone got the job,” one source said.

Vin Parise first had the story at VPHoops.com.

FDU finished 11-21, losing to LIU in the NEC quarterfinals.

(Photo courtesy Fordham athletics)

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“We’re taking resumes,” Hameline said Wednesday morning by phone. “Obviously, we’ll see who’s applying and then there will be a committee put together on campus. Hopefully by the end of the month we’ll get people on campus.”

Asked when he hoped to make a decision, Hameline said, “I’m looking somewhere toward the end of the month.”

The Staten Island school has received nearly 50 applications, but has not gotten one from former coach Dereck Whittenburg, who was fired at Fordham Dec. 3.

Whittenburg would consider the Wagner job if offered, a source with direct knowledge said.

This contradicts my earlier post where I wrote that Whittenburg would return to his former school. (Sometimes you make mistakes and you’ve got to own up,)

Whittenburg, 49, is currently doing some TV work for Comcast and is exploring his options for the future.

His career record is 135-162, including a 66-50 mark during four seasons at Wagner.

Meantime, Fordham interim coach Jared Grasso, who replaced Whittenburg, ends his season on Friday and expects to remain as the head coach next season.

“Once the season ends, the school’s search will commence,” a source close to the situation said. “They’ll decide if there will be other interviews given.”

Grasso has gotten four commitments since getting the interim job: senior guards Danny Lawhorn, Jayon James and Sean Armand and sophomore forward Amadou Sidibe.

Wagner and Fordham aren’t the only schools with uncertain futures.

While Monmouth has said Dave Calloway will return next season, the coaching situations at Rutgers, St. John’s and FDU also remain unclear.

Sources said the FDU players had recently gone to bat with the administration  on behalf of interim coach Greg Vetrone. Tom Barrise, an FDU grad who coached the Nets briefly this year, has also been interviewed.

“While I cannot comment on personnel matters as per our University policy, I can say that we are fully committed to bringing in the coach that is the best fit for our institution, department and men’s basketball program,” FDU athletic director David Langford said in an email. “This search must be done thoroughly as well as in a timely manner as not to put our men’s basketball program at a disadvantage heading into next season.”

Speaking generally about coaching openings in the area, one coach said: “The magical guy ain’t out there. Bob Knight and John Wooden ain’t out there.”

The coach added that schools now have a tendency to  retread old established coaches instead of taking a chance on younger or less experienced guys with an upside.

“They don’t take a chance on new guys,” the coach said. “You gotta go buy another coach from somewhere else. If he makes $2 million, let’s offer him $2.5.”

RIDER LANDS GUARD

Anthony Myles, a 6-4 guard from Polytech High School in Dover, Del., has verbally committed to Rider.

Myles played with Delaware Team Takeover in the summer and is the No. 1 ranked senior in the state of Delaware and was a 1st-[team All-State selection last year.  He’s currently averaging 21.9 points.  Polytech is the 7th seed in the Delaware state playoffs.

(Photo courtesy Fordham Athletics)

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Danny Lawhorn, a 6-foot, 160-pound point guard from South Kent (Conn.), verbally committed to Fordham on Saturday. He joins 6-5 guard Jayon James of Paterson Catholic and 6-2 guard Sean Armand of Central Jersey Each One Teach One among Fordham’s pledges for next season.

Lawhorn said he chose the Rams over interest from Houston, Baylor, Nevada and Providence, among others.

“I know that they [Fordham] really wanted me since my junior year,” said Lawhorn, a Harlem, N.Y. native who decommitted from Boston College last summer. ”I was worried about the [Atlantic 10] Conference and how they are. But since they really wanted me, I knew they were serious from the beginning.”

Lawhorn is the third South Kent senior to commit to a Division I program this year, following J.J. Moore (Pitt) and Russell Smith (Louisville).

Lawhorn said he’s looking forward to playing in Fordham’s offense.

“I like to play that offense and [Grasso] wanted to build something I wanted to be part of,” Lawhorn said. “I feel like I can get them to where they want to be.”

South Kent coach Kelvin Jefferson said Lawhorn could help  the Rams on both sides of the ball.

“On the defensive side of the ball he’s a terror because he’s just so fast,” Jefferson said. “He can stay in front of people. He can pressure full court. He can really get after it on one-on-one defensively. He can get in the passing lane, getting steals. Defensively, he can really cause problems for the other team.

“Offensively, he’s a point guard who can get the ball to people where they can score. He’s had games of 18 assists, 19 assists. He can get inside the defense and create shots for other players.”

Grasso is an interim coach, but he told Lawhorn he expects to be the Fordham coach next season.

“He said he was going to be there,” Lawhorn said.

“Danny’s happy with his decision and would love to play for Coach Grasso so hopefully that marriage works,” Jefferson said.

(Photos courtesy New England Recruiting Report)

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Initially, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle covering both the Knicks and Big East basketball for SNY.tv. But aside from being out of the house and away from my family several nights a week, things have worked out pretty well so far.

Except for one thing.

I’ve seen a lot of bad basketball.

During a five-day span this past week, I saw Seton Hall (at Villanova), St. John’s (to West Virginia) and the Knicks (to Milwaukee) all lose.

Then on Saturday things got even worse.

The Knicks and Nets were both in action in the NBA, as were all three local Big East teams:  Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. John’s.

The collective result?

Those five New York-area teams lost by a combined 74 points.

The Nets dropped to 4-46 after a 99-92 loss at Detroit.

That is the worst 50-game start in the history of the four major pro sports.

Let that sink in for a minute.

In Cleveland, LeBron dropped 47 points on the Knicks, who made a valiant comeback from 20 down at the half before falling 113-106.

The Knicks dropped to 19-31, a season-worst 12 games under .500.

New York has now lost 5 of 6 and 7 of 9.

As one of my colleagues pointed out, if you have 30 losses by the NBA All-Star Break, you ain’t makin’ the playoffs.

The Knicks are hoping that LeBron — or Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh — comes to the Big Apple via free agency next summer, but one free agent after another has come through New York questioning why the others would do that.

There’s a lot of pressure and media attention in New York. The team isn’t winning now. And there’s no guarantee who will even be on the roster next year.

Reggie Miller recently asserted to The New York Times that James definitely wasn’t coming to New York.

When Knicks president Donnie Walsh asked Miller directly if he knew that to be true, Miller backed down and said he didn’t.

I recently had a source tell me that LeBron was shopping for houses in Miami, so who knows?

What seems a near certainty is that the Knicks won’t make the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

Now let’s look at the local Big East teams.

Rutgers (2-9), St. Johns (2-8) and Seton Hall (3-7) are a combined 7-24 in the Big East.

The three locals now reside in 13th (Seton Hall), 14th (St. John’s) and 15th (Rutgers) places in the 16-team Big East.

After raising hopes with a modest two-game winning streak, Rutgers fell by 16 on Saturday at Louisville.

In a game I covered for SNY, St. John’s blew a 15-point second-half lead and lost by 19 to a West Virginia outfit that started five guys from New York and New Jersey, including former Bloomfield Tech star Da’Sean Butler, who dropped a season-high 33 points.  Long Island City’s Devin Ebanks, a likely first-round NBA pick should he elect to go in June, added 12 and 10 and used his length to anchor Bob Huggins’ 1-3-1 zone defense.

That make six games this season that the Johnnies have lost after leading at the half.

Six.

In Pittsburgh, Bobby Gonzalez switched things up by bringing leading scorer Jeremy Hazell off the bench but the Pirates lost by 25 points to the Panthers. Hazell managed just 2 points on 1-for-7 shooting.

As if that weren’t enough, the AP reported that the Pirates had to hike several blocks in knee-deep snow drifts to their hotel after their bus was halted in the snow.

“I guess when it rains, it pours,” Gonzalez said. “Or, like they say, when it snows, it snows.”

At least two of these programs could be ripe for coaching changes after the season, when Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti and St. John’s president Father Donald J. Harrington will have some hard choices to make.

Do they pull the plug and absorb the financial losses associated with buying out a head coach? Can they even afford to do so?

If they elect to do so, who comes in next?

There’s a lot of talk about recycling former Division I head coaches for these jobs, and we’ve all heard the same names over and over.

Fans have gotten creative, mentioning everyone from Bob Knight to Lawrence Frank to Bob Hurley as possibilities. Frank and Hurley both told me directly they weren’t interested in coaching at the college level. It’s NBA or bust for Frank, and St. Anthony or bust for the legendary Hurley.

If, and when, Rutgers and St. John’s, along with Fordham, FDU and others, elect to make changes, they should consider bringing in some fresh young blood.

Mike Rice, 40, has done a great job at Robert Morris and could be a natural candidate for a couple locations, as Tim Sullivan of the New York Post pointed out last week.

And what about Kevin Willard? The Iona coach has done a tremendous job with the Gaels, who are 17-7 with a roster full of guys from New York and New Jersey.

But somebody, if not Fordham itself, should give Fordham interim head coach Jared Grasso a shot.

Despite the Ram’s struggles this year with a young outfit, nobody works harder in this area on recruiting than Grasso, the youngest D-1 head coach in America. Ask Bob Hurley who the hardest working assistant coach he has dealt with in the past few years was..and he won’t hesitate to mention Grasso.

St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle and St. Benedict’s coach Dan Hurley are also two young guys who deserve a shot at an NEC or MAAC school. With all that they’ve accomplished, why not give them a shot?

Nobody is saying all of these local programs can or will be turned around overnight.

But how much longer can New York go on being virtually irrelevant in the world of basketball?

(Photo courtesy Daily News)

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Grasso landed a double-dip of guards Monday night when Jayon James, a 6-foot-5 guard from Paterson (N.J.) Catholic, and 6-2 guard Sean Armand, a Brooklyn native spending a postgrad year at Central Jersey Each One Teach One (CJEOTO) in Jersey, both orally committed to the Rams.

“I feel I had the best relationship wth Coach Grasso and the players that’s already there,” said James, who comes off the bench for the No. 9 team in the PrepNation.com poll. “I’ve been keeping in contact with them the most out of any other schools that I had.”

Grasso has been recruiting James since he was in the eighth grade and it paid off. A regular at the Reebok All-American Camp every July in Philadelphia, James said he chose Fordham over interest from La Salle, Rice, Canisius and Ivy League schools Columbia, Brown and Harvard.

A tall, cerebral guard who has battled weight issues in the past but has slimmed down to 225 pounds, James could play a point forward position for Fordham, currently 2-10 on the season.

“He said I would be the point forward,” James said of Grasso. I  would be the playmaker, get everybody on my team better.”

Fordham already features former PC guard Lance Brown, and that factored into James’ decision.

“He’s like a big brother ever since I came to PC,” James said. “And I also know [Fordham freshman] Chris Gaston.”

PC coach Damon Wright said he was very happy for James, and that Fordham was landing a very smart, talented player.

“He’s going to defend, he’s going to be a point forward, he’s going to be a winner,” Wright said. “He’s going to be a player that brings  a lot of IQ to the team.”

PC has cracked the Top 10 in several national polls after winning the City of Palms Classic in Florida, beating Austin Rivers and Winter Park (Fla.) in the final. Since then, the Cougars beat Huntington (West Va.) Prep in West Virginia and St. Peter’s Prep in Teaneck on Sunday.

“It’s been pretty exciting,” James said. “We were never able to be in the Top 10 in any of the polls. To win all these independent games is great so far. It’s good to beat some of these best teams in the country.”

James will be joined at Fordham next year by Armand, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound combo guard from Brooklyn who also orally committed Monday.

“Yes, five minutes ago,” Armand, pictured at left courtesy Jay Gomes, NJHoops.com, said by phone.

Armand said he had interest from La Salle, St. Joe’s, Rutgers, Arkon and Houston. St. Bonaventure also offered.

“I was about to go visit Houston,” he said.

Armand said he developed a close bond with Grasso and assistant Steve Trefilletti.

“I was close to him,” he said of Trefilletti. “The way I way I felt about my high school coach, that’s the way I feel with him.”

Armand averaged over 25 points and 12 rebounds as a junior at Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School in Manhattan and then dropped 44 points in one game there last season.

Josh Hoffman, Armand’s AAU coach with the New Jersey Trail Blazers, said Fordham is getting a steal.

“He can flat out score the ball,” Hoffman said. “He’s got NBA range on the jumper, can go to the hoop. He’s quick. He’s a high-character young man who will work his tail off and play defense and score. He’s under the radar, played at a no-name New York high school.”

“If he played for the New York Gauchos or the New Jersey Playaz, everyone in the nation would know who he was.”

Armand said he’s aware that Grasso is an interim coach and feels confident in his decision.

“I trust Coach Grasso and what he told me about the situation,” Armand said. “That he’s confident that he’s going to have his job. I’m going to take his word.

“He was loyal to me. I’m loyal to him.”

Added Hoffman: ”If Sean were my son I would feel comfortable sending him to play for Jared. They made him feel comfortable.”

FLORIDA AFTER KADEEM JACK

Rice coach Maurice Hicks said Florida coach Billy Donovan and assistant Rob Lanier will be up this week to visit 6-8 senior forward Kadeem Jack (pictured courtesy NewYorkGauchos.com).

“Everybody’s coming,” Hicks said. “Billy Donovan is coming in this week.”

Jack holds offers from St. John’s, Seton Hall, Florida and Arizona, and Florida International coach Isiah Thomas has called, Hicks said.

“He has no favorite right now,” Hicks said. “He’s not going to do anything until late.”

Jack and teammates Shane Southwell, who committed to Kansas State on SNY.tv, and junior wing Jermaine Sanders, who has interest from several Big East schools, will play in the SNY Invitational Jan. 29-30 at NYU.

“He’s a high-major player,” Hicks said of Jack. “He’s really developed into a power player. He just turned 17. His upside is great. I think he can be a high-major four or five.”

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St. Patrick (6-0) is No. 2, Paterson Catholic (6-0) No. 9 and St. Benedict’s (7-1) No. 15.

St. Patrick won the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in San Diego behind a combined  47 points from Duke-bound PG Kyrie Irving and junior sensation Michael Gilchrist (pictured above courtesy SteveBoylephoto.com).

Paterson Catholic captured the prestigious City of Palms Classic over Austin Rivers and Winter Park (Fla.) before beating Huntington (West Va.) Prep in the Cancer Research Classic in West Virginia and previously unbeaten St. Peter’s Prep, 75-55, Sunday in Teaneck.

Seton Hall-bound forward Fuquan Edwin poured in a game-high 25 points and junior point guard Myles Mack added 23, according to my esteemed former Herald News colleague Keith Idec.

Meanwhile, Temple-bound guard Aaron Brown dropped 17 points and earned MVP honors to lead Dan Hurley’s St. Ben’s team to a 69-48 victory Saturday night over St. Frances (Md.) in the Cancer Research Classic. Texas-bound junior point guard Myck Kabongo added 12 points and 12 assists and Mike Poole scored 13 points. Rutgers-bound forward Gil Biruta added 10 points and 9 boards.

Bob Hurley’s St. Anthony team fell to Arlington Country Day (Fla.), 54-41, in the finals of the Tampa Hoops Classic on New Year’s Eve. The Friars are unranked in the PrepNation national poll but No. 6 regionally. They are 5-1 while playing without star forwards Ashton Pankey (shin splints) and Devon Collier (academics). Pankey has committed to Maryland and Collier to Oregon State.

FORDHAM OFFERS JAMES, JOSEPH PUTS ON A SHOW

Fordham has offered a scholarship to Paterson Catholic 6-5 senior point guard Jayon James, who also has interest from Rice and several Ivy League schools…Findlay (Nev.) Prep guard Cory Joseph poured in 26 points and 16 rebounds Sunday as Findlay, No. 3 in the Prep Poll, earned a 91-70 victory over National College Prep in the championship game of the Hampton Inn & Suites Invitational. Texas-bound forward Tristan Thompson, a fellow Canadian, added 18 points.

Joseph will sign late and is considering UNLV, Villanova, UConn, Minnesota and Texas.

**For the complete and updated ZAGSBLOG high school hoops calendar, click here.

(Photo courtesy ESPN Rise)

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Here’s a column from Rick Bozich on the relationship between the two coaches.

After his admissions of marital infidelity and a pending trial, Pitino is sure to get an earful from the UK faithful and it should be something to watch (3:30, CBS).

**I’ll be at Cincinnati-Rutgers tonight in what should be an entertaining affair. Rutgers, which won only two Big East games last season, needs to win this game to defend the RAC, while Rashad Bishop and the Bearcats are coming off a 71-69 victory over No. 10 UConn in which Lance Stephenson hit two key foul shots with .7 seconds left. The game will be shown live on SNY at 8 p.m. SNY also has the Pitt-Syracuse game at noon.

**In another key tilt, No. 1 Kansas visits Juan Fernandez and Temple. In one of three bylines he has in today’s New York Times (take a break, my man), Kevin Armstrong has this interesting feature on Fernandez’s journey from Argentina to Philly. Kevin also has a piece on Army coach Zach Spiker.

**In the high school ranks, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins and South Florida coach Stan Heath watched as Paterson Catholic improved to 5-0 with a 70-67 OT victory over Huntington (West Va.) Prep in Wheeling, West Va.. Junior guard Myles Mack was named MVP after putting up 21 points on 9 for 15 shooting to go with 6 rebounds and 3 steals and Seton Hall-bound forward Fuquan Edwin added 19 points. Junior forward Derrick Randall added 12 points and 11 boards. PC, ranked No. 8 in the PrepNation.com poll, was coming off winning the City of Palms tournament with a win over Austin Rivers and Winter Park (Fla.).

Cougars coach Damon Wright said Heath inquired about the 5-9 Mack, who has had a tremendous season thusfar.

Ater Majok

His cousin, Majok Majok, is a 6-8 1/2, 230-pound senior big man with a 7-2 wingspan who plays for John Carroll at Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.).

The former Fordham guard committed to USC Monday morning after a weekend visit to the school.

“Yeah, I committed early this morning,” the 6-foot-1 Fontan said Monday afternoon. “I just came back last night.”

He must sit out a year as per NCAA transfer regulations before he can suit up for the Trojans in December 2010.

A Paterson, N.J., native, Fontan visited Miami and USC and was to visit Tennessee and Alabama, but he saw enough at Southern Cal to make the call.

The Trojans on Saturday upset No. 9 Tennessee, 77-55, behind 12 points and 10 assists from Charlotte transfer Mike Gerrity, making his Southern Cal debut.

“What I liked most was I liked the campus a lot,” he said. ”I got a chance to speak to the coaches. Coach [Kevin O'Neill] said I got a chance to come in and play and major minutes right away because they’re losing the point guard [Gerrity] and the backup point guard.”

Fontan, who led Bob Hurley’s St. Anthony team to an undefeated 32-0 season in 2007-08, led Fordham in scoring (15.3 ppg) and assists (132) as a freshman, but parted ways with the school earlier this month.  Fordham then fired head coach Dereck Whittenburg and replaced him on an interim basis with Jared Grasso.

Fontan said he plans to be on campus at USC for the start of classes in January.

“I’m really happy,” he said. ”I think I made a great decision. I love California. I love the campus.  Coach ’KO’ is mad cool. I’m in the Pac 10.

“He told me to enjoy this Christmas break and then it’s time to get to business.”

(Photo courtesy Fordham Athletics)

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